I tried fighting the first set of skeletons in the swamp using a level 4 party who had just escaped Fort Joy. That went terribly since the skeletons had 15 and 13 Initiative, much higher than my party, so they stripped off my pitiful magic armor with a fireball, then an Overpowered Fear Grenade did the rest.
That was the clear indication that I needed to be level 4 and have cleared out everything and bought equipment upgrades before leaving Fort Joy. I killed off the magisters on the beach near the start and the ones at the gate to bring me to level 4, then I stole all the paintings I could find and converted them into gold. That got me up to a total of 979 gold. Unfortunately, no one had any gear worth buying except for a +1 Memory amulet which was far too expensive for my taste.
So that leaves me in a bit of a pickle. I guess all I can do is buy some extra skills, but most of the ones I want are at about 245 gold each. I think I can afford to get Snipe for my archer, Fortify for my mage, Whirlwind for my fighter, and Netherswap and Electric Discharge for my Rogue, but that'll just about clear me out.
Hmmm. I guess that'll have to do, but without any improvements to my armor, my prospects for beating the skeletons out in the swamp is not likely to improve much.
